Online freelance agency oDesk.com, which recently merged with rival Elance.com, is considering opening an office in Australia to compete with Australia-based Freelancer.com.

Matt Cooper, oDesk’s vice-president of its international division, said Australia was now the company’s second-largest market globally with more than 50,000 registered clients. He also mentioned that oDesk, which is based in Silicon Valley, has twice the penetration rate in Australia as compared with its home market of the US.